New Fuel Efficiency Standards For Trucks

A new set of fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks is expected to create an astounding $50 billion in fuel savings.

The Obama administration has unveiled a new set of fuel standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks that will affect all vehicles made from 2014-2018.

The new set of standards will affect different types of trucks in different ways, according to Fast Lane, the official blog of Ray LaHood, the US secretary of transportation. Long haul trucks, for instance. will be able to save around four gallons of oil for every 100 miles travelled, while smaller trucks like buses or vans would save one gallon for every 100 miles.

"While we were working to improve the efficiency of cars and light-duty trucks, something interesting happened," President Obama explained. "We started getting letters asking that we do the same for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. They were from the people who build, buy, and drive these trucks. And today, I'm proud to have the support of these companies as we announce the first-ever national policy to increase fuel efficiency and decrease greenhouse gas pollution from medium and heavy-duty trucks."

Under the new set of standards, the Department of Transportation projects fuel savings somewhere in the neighborhood of 530 million barrels of oil. As for vehicle owners, semi-truck built under these standards could save its owner more than $73,000 in fuel savings over its lifetime.

"Right now, heavy-duty truck traffic on our nation's roads accounts for six percent of our greenhouse gas emissions," wrote LaHood. "But trucking is also the fastest-growing contributor to America's emissions, and that six percent will continue rising unless we act. Trucks also consume 12 percent of US oil use, so these standards should put a dent in our dependence on foreign oil and improve our energy security."

Overall the DOT predicts more than $50 billion in overall fuel savings.